A sampling of some of the more well-received remarks made by speakers at Friday's rally in Tewksbury held by Market Basket employees demanding the reinstatement of ousted CEO Arthur T. Demoulas.

-- Gordon Leblanc, meat supervisor/buyer, 43-year Market Basket employee: "I come from a large family. I have nine siblings, nine sisters and a brother. And we stick together no matter what. ... I lost my father a while ago. At the wake, my sisters decided we would all have the family mascot, a giraffe, on our lapel. We had a lot of questions -- why would the giraffe be the Leblanc family mascot? My father was pretty outspoken and independent, and his motto was 'Do not be afraid to stick your neck out when you know you're right.' Everybody here is sticking their neck out, and they have threatened us. We will not be threatened."

-- Tom Trainor, distribution supervisor, 40-year Market Basket employee: "Who here doesn't think I am loyal to Arthur T. Demoulas? So I'm not going to waste my time telling you that I would fall on a grenade for that guy."

"Where do we go from here? Why are we here today? Because we can shut this company down. And that is the only way we are going to gain the attention of the board of directors. We have tried -- on Facebook, by email, and letter-writing campaigns -- they don't care, and they don't listen. There is one way to make a greedy person listen: In his wallet.

"I was told today there was some union activity, people going around the crowd handing out union cards.

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Really? Do you think we need a union? We are the biggest ... union in this country, and we go from senior management to part-time employees. This is unprecedented. There is no union in this country that is stronger than this union right here. ... We are stronger than any union because we are a family."

-- Steve Paulenka, 40-year Market Basket employee, facilities and operations supervisor: "This is a defining moment. All across this country, California, Illinois, Florida, folks have risen up as one many times, it's nothing new. But it's always to get rid of somebody. It's never been to bring somebody back.

"It was dark times a month ago. But this week with all the tension, this is the first time in my heart that I've felt the light at the end of the tunnel might be daylight and wasn't a train coming down. All we have to do is stick together."

-- Todd Peters, 34-year Market basket employee, grocery buyer: "The enemy is in our house. They came here with no good intentions. They walked by us for the first 10 days and didn't even acknowledge we existed. Would Arthur T. ever do that to you?

"We have drawn the line and we need all 71 stores' support. We need to take this to the consumer. They are the ones -- they probably see this on TV today and think of it as just a rally. ... They're the ones that are going to shot in the back of the head, and they don't even see it coming. You need to carry the fight to the customer because (new management) is going to do nothing but destroy our company and raise prices. You need to tell everybody that comes in the door that this is corporate greed at its core and they are going to try to destroy us."

-- Al Davis, 40-year employee, veteran manager of more than 20 Market Basket stores, currently in Reading: "We're in it to win it, and that's why we're here."

-- Dean Joyce, 34-year Market Basket employee, Tewksbury distribution center manager: "I want to start off by saying, I never took more sick calls in my life than today. I hope you're all feeling better.

"About our CEOs, they don't care about us. We had people that do care about us. ... They didn't want the media here. Why is that? Every news story you see, the media is on our side. Because we are right.

"I heard a good quote from somebody, and the more I think about it, it's so true: 'I'd rather die with a sword in my hand then a knife in my back.' "

"Another group of guys that I want to talk about and thank (along with the Market Basket truck drivers) and that I'm extremely proud of, are the warehouse guys, who moved 56 million cases last year. I tell them in every meeting we have, we are the backbone of that company. Without us, nothing happens. And the (board of directors and CEOs) are going to find out, because without us, nothing happens. Stay strong! Let's go!"

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